Holding On
by MuzekWriter
Summary: Takes place after Bash pulls Mary from the bathtub of poison.
1. Chapter 1

Holding on:

Standing alone in the bath chamber Mary and Bash clung to one another as the clash of metal and screams echoed against the cold stone of the castle floors. The queen's voice thick with venom as she promised a future of ruin if Mary was allowed to continue to her current course.

"Mary, do you want to get your ladies?"

"Just hold me… I am sure they will be here soon enough."

And that Bash did as Mary's thin frame molded into his body. His hands journey all over her back, reassuring her he was there.

"She claims I set this future in motion" Mary whimpered.

"Don't think about her."

"But I do Bash, all the time. I think about what she is going to do next. I think about how the King is going to react to the next challenge that gets in his way for England. I think about how you, we…"

"Me, we, what?"

"I think about how, even now as I can barely breathe, that I would not know what it was like to be so "cared" for by you if it had not been for Catherine. Without Catherine seeking to protect Francis, I don't know how I would have ended up in your arms."

Bash leans his forehead against her, eyes closed and noses caressing one another.

"Mary, I more than care."

"I know." Mary's hand slips out from the blanket and rests on his cheek. "I wish you were my husband now."

"As do I." Closing the distance, Bash drinks her lips in with his. Trying to find his own breathe, Bash's mind wonders to a world of wishes. "I would send all these people away and draw you a fresh bath myself to clean the poison from your beautiful body. Only to then carry you to our bed. I would account for each patch of your skin with a kiss of promise. And to hold you all night so that I might chase whatever evil from this night tried to sneak into your mind."

"I wish that moment had not been stolen from us. You seeing me…"

"I didn't see Mary. All I could do was see was a possible future of losing you. The fear overwhelmed me. We will still have that moment, unhindered and unreserved."

"And before a room of onlookers…"

"Perhaps, but we don't always have to play by the rules."

"I know I have been slow in learning how to as you said open my heart, but if I had not been as slow as I have been I don't think I would understand the gravity of what I feel for you Bash." Bash lifts his head slightly from her's, looking her in her tear stained eyes, as she continues to talk. "I used to think love was something that I could control and direct with charm and laughter, but what I feel for you Bash is so different from anything I have ever felt before. Yes, we laugh, but we also have trust in one another. Trust being one of the most scarce feelings I can ever afford myself."

"We do have trust. And trust does not come easy for me either. Were you are used to everyone trying to use an angle against you, I am the one that has always been expendable."

"You're not expendable Bash. With you I feel like I could do anything, without having to change who I am, or change my status. I can be here in a sheet clinging to you for strength and still be a queen. I feel like a better version of myself when I am with you."

"I am glad that I can strengthen you confidence."

"Its more though Bash. What I feel for you runs deeper than anything I have been taught to feel or consider. I respect you in ways that I could never respect another man. I look at you and all I see is this person who has been built by the principles of love and commitment to one's family, versus a world of illusions and politics. I see a man who by a simple glance of the eye, makes my body warm with want. You compliment me in ways that no one else could. Together we are whole. Apart we are adrift. I'll say it again, I know exactly who you are."

"And who is that Mary?"

"You are not the makings of childhood fantasies, you are my first adult love. You are my perfect match."

"Mary…" Instead of words Bash attempts to kiss her, when the doors come crashing wide open.

"OH! Mary! I can't believe what she almost did!" Kenna whimpered as she came running into the room.

"Thank God you were able to hold onto the side of the tub as the poison caused Catherine to collapse." Greer said as she followed Kenna in.

"But I wasn't."

Bash pulled back only enough to appraise her. "What do you mean Mary? That is how I found you?"

"It was Clarissa who saved me. The vapors from the poison had caused me to slip underwater. I was drowning. It was Clarissa who came in and pulled me out of the water."

"Who is Clarissa?" Lola asked as she entered.

"Catherine's daughter. The ghost of the castle. She uses the passage system in the castle to move about. I promise I will explain, but to be honest I am feeling rather weak right now."

"We have to get this poison off of you." Lola stated.

"The maids are bringing more hot water for you" Greer informed them.

"No we can't use this tub again. Please direct them to fill the tub in my chambers. I would find it highly unlikely that someone would attempt to kill me with a bath, a dagger yes, but not a bath." Bash stated.

"But Bash, all of my clothes are down here."

"Well then we are going to move both you and your bed clothes to my chambers."

"Isn't that I little much Bash?" Lola speaks up.

"No, Mary is going to be my wife and I am not letting her out of my sight until I know that she is healthy and safe."

"Bash…"

"Mary, please. Let me take care of you. I may not be able to do everything that I want at this time, but I can at least share with you. Alec has done multiple threat assessments of my chambers and I have come to believe that they are the safest place in the castle as of now. We need to inspect your chambers to make sure that nothing has been poisoned or tampered with. And you need to tell me more about Clarissa being in the passages. I am thankful that she saved you, but until this moment we did not know that she was alive. She is still Catherine's daughter, and we don't know how she is going to react to this development with her mother."

"Alright, but how am I going to get there wrapped in a sheet?" Mary said with the first smile since he rescued from the bath that night.

"Like this." And with that Bash picked Mary up still wrapped in her sheet and carried her to his Chambers, with her ladies in tow.


	2. Chapter 2

If the stares of the staff, the guards, and even Bash's own father as Bash carried Mary up the stairs and to his chambers was any indicator of how exposed Mary, and even he, would feel during the consummation ritual; then he was going to have to have a serious conversation with her when she was feeling better. Bash walked with a look of both determination and adoration as Mary, still wrapped in a sheet, clung to Bash with one arm exposed that wrapped around his neck. Greer and Kenna followed close behind as they directed the servants to prepare the water for Bash's chambers instead. Lola had deviated to her own chambers to gather clothing for Mary there until Mary's chambers could be inspected by herself, Alec, and anyone else who now made the very short list of trusted individuals. King Henry could only call out "Bash", before Bash stopped him by stating "I will talk with you as soon as Mary is out of danger from Catherine's poison.", and gratefully the king just nodded in agreement.

As Bash rounded the corner that would lead to his quarters, Alec who had run ahead of the group, confirmed that all looked clear for Queen Mary to enter. This was the first time that Greer and Kenna had been in Bash's quarters. As they looked around they noticed how simple yet unique his décor was. The tapestries that hung we solid colors, instead of weaved design. The furniture had simple lines, unlike most French style, yet it was still substantial in size. For a moment they just held back and looked as Bash proceeded to place Mary on the side of bed. Greer couldn't help but smile as Bash's first move was trace the length of the arm that Mary had extended around his neck, until his fingers interlocked with hers.

"Hey…"

"Bash are you sure you want me here? There is going to be a lot of fuss with me up here?"

"Yes, there will be… by me."

Mary gave Bash sideway tilt of her head for his response.

"Look, the only people that I am going to let in here are your ladies, Alec, you, maybe my father, and myself. No one else." As he looked up to the room "All of you are in agreement on this?"

"Of course." Kenna immediately said as she crawled across from the back side of Bash's bed to hold Mary for the first time since Bash had let her go, even though still had one of Mary's hands grasped in his, Mary place her other hand on Kenna's arm that wrapped around her. Greer immediately welcomed herself to the relief of the moment and walked around Bash to sit on the side next to Mary, while they waited from Lola to arrive.

"I need to go speak with my father Mary, but first we need to talk about Clarissa."

Just then Lola walked in with a pile of clothes for Mary. She promptly placed them on a chest by Bash's window and too joined her girls on Bash's bed, flanking Mary's other side.

"Clarissa introduced herself to me, when I discovered an unsealed entrance to the passages early on after my arrival at French Court. I had remembered playing in those passages with you and Francis when we were young."

"I remember. You were nearly impossible to catch." Bash smirked.

"She still is." Lola commented.

The room suddenly looked at Lola.

"Did you not notice that she escaped almost certain death just moments ago?" Lola smiled.

"I had a little help."

"But you survived Mary. You have to promise me and everyone here you will never stop trying to escape anything that attempts to entrap you. You are Scotland, but more importantly you are my friend, and I cannot lose you." Lola said.

"If they charge center, I promise I will flank."

"Thank you."

"So, Clarissa…." Kenna reminded them.

"Clarissa and I have never really talked. And up until today I had not been able to figure out her place here at the castle. I knew that she was familiar with the passage ways I had once been with Bash and Francis when we were young. She dwells in the darkness and at first it was disturbing. But one night, on one of the first nights here at court, she warned me not to drink the wine that was going to be served at banquet. Later I discovered that that wine had been poisoned."

"Mary, why didn't you tell me?" Bash immediately jumped.

"I had just returned. But with the number of people that were here I had no idea who would have tried to kill me or not. I guess now I have a better idea, but then I did not. Silence was a better option as I weighed the options. What Clarissa had done though was, make me believe that I had an ally. And perhaps I still do since she saved me tonight."

"I am so grateful for Clarissa Mary, but do you think that she knew that Catherine was her mother until this evening? We just returned this evening with Abigail's mother who told the story of a child with a birthmark and scaring."

"No I don't think she did."

"We need to be vigilant" Alec spoke up from the corner of the room.

"Agreed" all of Mary's ladies echoed.

"Well, since I am a little higher up in the castle than your chambers, and the other royal members, the walls are built differently, and without passages." Bash commented.

"Why is that?" Kenna asked.

"I think it had something to do with the value of the person's life in the quarters. France would always want the royals to be able to escape, and why burden the royals with flights of stairs? I have always enjoyed being up high, especially after having to retrieve a certain young queen from the upper limbs of a tree." Bash said.

"Really Bash? You like being up here because of memories of a wild me?"

"You're still wild, and you better not change Mary" Bash smiled, "but yes, I do remember that for the longest time I tried to refine my ability to climb trees so that I could spend time with just you, and not have Francis around. After you left court, I never would have admitted it, but I still climbed those trees and wished someone, you, were up there with me. I grew to love the view from up high, so when my father offered me my own chambers, but further up in the castle away from all the noblemen and courtiers, all I could think of was the view I would have from up here."

Before Mary could say anything Kenna piped up "Oh, Mary…"

Mary unlocked her eyes from Bash and turned to her friend behind her and just smiled. When a knock interrupted the moment.

"Excuse me, sir and misses, I just wanted to let you know the bath has been drawn."

"Well, that is my cue to get out of here and talk to my father."

"Bash, please don't say anything to Henry about Clarissa."

"Why not?"

"This isn't her fault that Catherine abandoned her. It isn't her fault that she grew up in darkness. Henry will likely have her hunted and killed if he knows she is here."

"Mary…"

"I know it is dangerous, but please. Let me think about how to help her know that we know what we do."

"Alright, but we are also going to heed Henry's advice and start cutting down any threat that we see. She may not be a threat now, and it seems that she has been help to you… for that I am grateful. But she is of Catherine's blood. And now that she knows that, she may not still be an ally."

"I understand."

"Mary…"

"I do. It's just so much has been stolen, or changed, or forged in the last couple of days. I don't see why more suffering has to come of it now."

"I understand. Believe me I do. Just know, that you are my first priority. My first priority who has a date with a bath." Bash smiled as his other hand caressed her cheek. "Take good care of her ladies."

"We will." Greer said.

"I am going to stay out on the balcony. I promise I will not venture far." Alec spoke again. "And there are guards at the door, and corridor, I heard them earlier."

Before Bash could pull away, Mary used what little strength she had at the moment to pull him back to her, and quickly gave him a half hug. "Hurry back soon?"

"I will, as soon as you are done bathing. And perhaps in something more fetching than a sheet?"

"Oh!"

"Alright, I will admit I like the sheet. But seriously…" As Bash turned to her ladies "help her get that poison off. Before I return I am going to visit Nostradamus and see if he is willing to share knowledge as to what that poison could have been. Alec, please stay with Mary. She is my heart, and therefore protecting her is protecting me. I need to tend to somethings around here, but I promise Mary I will return soon." And with that Bash kissed Mary's forehead and exited his chambers to seek out his father first.


End file.
